Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Tunisia’s budget for 2014 targets an
economic growth rate of about 4 percent after the government
revised down this year’s forecast amid political unrest, Finance
Minister Elyes Fakhfakh said.

The economy may expand between 3.2 percent and 3.6 percent
in 2013, Fakhfakh said in an interview in Washington on Oct. 12
during the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund
and the World Bank.

More than two years after an uprising toppled President
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia’s transition to democracy has
been complicated by the assassination of two opposition
politicians. Bowing to pressure, the government has agreed to
resign, though the ruling Ennahda Party has said the cabinet
will remain in power until consensus is reached on a new
constitution and an election timetable.

Fakhfakh, a member of the secular-leaning Ettakatol party,
said steps that would allow the government to leave office,
including the completion of the charter, may be concluded by
mid-November. “Our biggest goal is to make the transitional
period a success,” he said.

The government is in talks with U.S. authorities to
guarantee a bond sale next year as the North African country
seeks to bridge a $1 billion shortfall in external financing
needs, he said. The government has already mobilized the
external support required for 2013, he said.